When the dream ends
by Melyn Tenshi
Summary: Duo fear his past is coming back. But it is not the past everyone thinks it is. Duo's fears soon become a reality and he is faced with something he never wanted anyone to know. A lot of fantasy in this as well as a supernatural twist.
1. Reflections in a mirror

Hello! I am Melyn the Otaku! Love me! Love me! *clears throat* Ok, if anyone here has read any of my other works, they know I am a humorous writer and I have been told I am good at that.

Well, that all ends today...Ok, I will still write humorous fanfiction, but for the past two months I have had a craving to write at least one serious fic, and this is it. 

It is a little bit of an abstract idea for a Gundam Wing fic, but trust me on this. Stories about Duo Maxwell don't get much weirder.

Please be kind. And do review. I really want to know what you think and criticism is good, when it is a thoughtful remark. I do not like getting 'dude this sux!' as a review. 

******

When the dream ends

Chapter 1: Reflections in a mirror

******

Duo yawned and stretched across his bed. Today was his eighteenth birthday. Ok, he did not know his birthday, but Quatre insisted he pick a date to be his birthday. 

He picked the day he was first Duo. He did not even remember that exact date, but he did remember the season and picked a day in the spring. March 21 sounded good.

And March 21 had rolled around once again. This would be his third of fourth actual birthday, again, he didn't remember. It was never that important to him. Sure he got cake and everyone bought him a gift, but other than that it was not a day of significance. Never has been, never will be.

Duo cracked open an eye and glanced over at the clock. 9:25. They let him sleep in.

Wufei must be going insane. He was prompt and did not like him sleeping in over a minute. Duo would have to thank Quatre later for holding back the Chinaman.

"Maxwell! Get up now!" Wufei barked up the stairs.

All good things have to end. That was life.

Duo sat up and stretched. He yawned again and scratched his head. He decided long ago that mornings were the best. There was no need for him at this time and the rest of the world just slipped away from him. It was heavenly, or as close to heaven as he would get.

Duo looked across his room and stared into the floor length mirror hanging off his door. Eighteen, but he didn't look older.

He continued to stare at his reflection. It was him, he knew it. But before he looked different... The reflection in the mirror still felt like a stranger, even though he had lived this was for eighteen years.

What had happened to him? He was once something much different, but now he was this. An eighteen year old kid, in his boxers staring blankly at a mirror. He could now classify himself as a hopeless case.

"Maxwell!" Wufei sounded even more annoyed.

"Coming!" Duo sighed and left the comforts of the bed and quickly dressed himself. He threw open the door and put on his jester's mask.

It was time to face the world for yet another day. 

******

Duo flopped down on his bed. Ok, this birthday was much different than all his others. Mainly because sweet innocent little Quatre decided it would be fun to take Duo to a strip club for his birthday. 

Who would have though Quatre would think up such a thing? All the others didn't even know the blond Arabian would do that! Though the look on Trowa's face when he realized where they were was a priceless memory.

Duo laughed. Heero blushing when Claudia, the stripper, told him he was cute was also one of those Kodak moments.

He had good friends, there was no two ways about it. These four were his family.

Family...He hadn't used that word in awhile. The last time he used that word was to describe...

Duo shook his head. He would not think of them! They were al dead. They were not his family anymore...were they? 

Duo sat up again. Why did he think about them now? The last time he saw them he was still a child! It had been years since they even made an impact on him. Most of that impact he still felt in his dreams.

"No more!" Duo smacked himself on the face. "Just forget!"

He fell back onto his bed and shut his eyes. 

Sleep would make him forget...It had to make him forget...He had to forget...

*****

Quatre sighed and looked at the three other boys at the table. They had gathered to discuss one specific topic. Duo.

"Do you have any ideas on why he was acting like that? Duo was so distant today." Quatre looked at Heero. Duo tended to tell the former perfect soldier everything.

Heero shrugged. "He said nothing to me. Must just be in a bad mood."

Trowa shook his head. "This is Duo. He's always in a good mood, even when he's not."

It was true. They all knew that happy Duo Maxwell was not always happy. He did have other moods besides obnoxious, annoying and happy-go-lucky. He hid his bad moods well, but they could always tell when Duo was depressed. He made no effort to hide his mood today. That or he was just getting sloppy.

Whatever Duo was feeling now was very serious. It was a mutual feeling throughout the group of former pilots. 

"I'll ask him tomorrow--"

"No." Heero cut Quatre off. "If you bring it up, he will hide it. If he doesn't want us to know, we won't know.:"

"Point." Wufei sighed in frustration. They all had know Duo Maxwell since they were all fourteen, and yet, of all the pilots, he was still the biggest mystery. "Let's hope this is nothing. If Maxwell isn't himself by tomorrow, we approach him."

"Together would not be a good idea." Trowa spoke up. "He'll run if we all come up. Heero or Quatre would be the top two choices to talking to him."

"Quatre." Wufei agreed. The blond was the most sensitive of the group and it would not be as suspicious if Quatre started to ask questions concerning Duo's behavior.

Heero nodded as did Quatre. Tomorrow Quatre would find out information.

*****

Duo sat up in a cold sweat. The full moonlight cast a ghastly glow about him. He shook violently as he wrapped his arms around himself.

Oh God...He couldn't escape it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape his past. It would soon find him.

Duo wrapped his blanket around his body and rocked back and forth as he tried to calm himself down. There was no where to run. They would find him, like they did before, but this time, they would kill him. 

******

How was that? Good? Bad? Are you interested? Not really? Curious on what's happening?

I know it is a little confusing right now, but I promise it will make cense in later chapters. This story is based on a dream I had, so that is the background of the idea. It has been plaguing me for a month, so I finally decided to write it. Please review! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Duo Maxwell or any one else. This is the entire story's disclaimer and I do not think I will be posting another one of these here. Read it over carefully and remember, NOT MINE! 


	2. Paranoia

If you can't tell by my first chapter, I am a cruel person when it comes to writing. I love cliffhangers when I write and read, so many of my chapters might end like that. So...yeah... Sorry if you don't like them, but I love suspense in stories. It keeps people coming back for more! ^.^

Tell me if I'm doing a good job here. I'm not use to writing serious stories so tell me if I'm doing a good job. Thanks and please do review! Melyn loves reviews.

*****

When the dream ends

Chapter 2: Paranoia 

*****

"Duo!" Quatre flagged the former Gundam pilot down. They were alone, but it seemed as if Duo was in a daze for the past week and the only way to ever get his attention anymore was to yell and flail your arms until he took notice.

Today seemed like a day where Duo was on top of things. He immediately noticed Quatre and walked over, but he still appeared to be in zombie mode. 

"Can we talk?" The blonds eyes were full of concern.

Duo blinked back to reality when he realized Quatre was talking. He let Quatre's words sink in for a minute. "Uh...sure. I don't see why not." Duo put on his trademark crooked smile.

"Are you ok? You looked really down yesterday."

Duo's bright violet eyes dimmed. It appeared not to be a subject Duo really wanted to talk about. "I'm fine. Really." His smile looked more forced now. "Nothing's wrong. I...I'm just...I _was_ just feeling down yesterday. That's all."

"Duo, if you want to talk--"

"I said I was fine!" Duo snarled. 

Quatre stepped back and prepared to defend himself. Duo looked like a wild animal. His eyes were blazing and his fists were clenched at his sides. "I...I'm sorry..."

Duo took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "Sorry, Quatre." Duo mumbled. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just having a bad day. " Duo turned and walked away.

Quatre gulped. "If...if there's anything I can do to help..." He trailed off as he realized Duo was not listening. 

******

Duo sighed and fell on his bed. It seemed he had been doing a lot of hiding in his room lately. 

He couldn't blame them for being concern. It was in Quatre's nature to make sure everyone was alright. He didn't think twice about what the others thought. They were worried as well, though it would be a cold day in hell when Heero and Wufei openly admitting they were worried about him of all people. 

He felt bad for yelling. He really did. But he doubted Quatre would believe him. Not after that outburst.

There was just so much they didn't know. And there was so much they wouldn't understand. No one ever would understand. His whole life, his whole goddamn life, no one ever realized exactly what he was. And once they did, they would shut him out forever. That's why he would never tell them.

Duo bolted upright in his bed as the door flew open. Heero's eyes blazed as he walked up to Duo and hit him across the face. Hard.

"What the hell is your problem!" Duo screamed and rubbed his injured jaw.

"My problem?" Heero glared. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"What?" 

"Why are you acting like a fucking child?" 

Duo glared at the former perfect soldier. "I told Quatre it was personal. I thought I made that perfectly clear." He snarled.

Heero glared back with just as much intensity. "I don't care how personal it is. And just because it is, doesn't give you the right to take it out on us. Quatre was trying to help." He said low in his throat. "Now what the hell is your problem" 

Duo sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I don't care. I want an answer."

Duo looked into his friends eyes. He was taking this just as he had any other mission. He was not going to leave or give up unless Duo either told him or killed him. The braided American sighed in defeat. He wasn't about to kill his best friend, no matter how cold he was at times. "It's something from my past, alright. That's all."

Heero blinked. "Your...past?" It appeared he was looking for a different answer than the one he got. Duo saw a million questions play in Heero's eyes, but not one was voiced. "I understand." He said as monotone as he usually did in this type of situation. "I didn't realize."

Heero turned and left the room and shut the door behind him.

Duo sighed and fell onto his bed. For once he was grateful Heero never inquired about others history. If it was any other person, they would have immediately wanted to know more details, Duo wouldn't have known how to answer those questions. 

Duo groaned. They were getting close to him. Why did they have to be so damn curious? Heero would tell the others, that was obvious. But what would they say? 'Sure, Duo's past is a good answer, but what about his past?' That's what they would say.

"They're going to find out soon." He sighed and looked into the mirror. "What the hell are you getting yourself into, Maxwell?"

******

"It's Solo." Heero sat down at the kitchen table with the other three ex-pilots later that evening. Duo was usually on the internet at this time of night, reading fanfics (or so he said). The others didn't fear him coming downstairs for anything. He always zoned out while reading anything. They were free to talk.

"Solo?" Wufei repeated.

Heero nodded. "Duo told me something in his past was what was bugging him. Two days ago was when he said he first became Duo, which was the day Solo died."

Quatre groaned and hit his head against the table. "We should have figured that out." The blond laughed slightly. "Funny how we missed the most obvious answer, isn't it?"

Trowa rubbed the Arabian's back. "Sometimes the obvious is the hardest to find." He smiled. At least they now knew what was the matter with Duo. He didn't blame the American for not talking about it. Nobody could have. Duo's grief was personal. No one else knew the other boy from L2 so it would be hard for Duo to talk about it.

"Let's give Duo a few more days to grieve." 

*****

Duo sank to the floor and felt like laughing right along with Quatre. Solo was the obvious answer. Why didn't he think of it?

Duo was very glad he came down to get a coke. He know knew a way to keep them from hounding him. It was lying, yes. But if they knew the truth, it would hurt them. It might even get them killed. And the reason he didn't lie was to keep the people he cared about safe...so this really wasn't lying...was it?

Solo. It still amazed him they came to that conclusion. 

"If that was only it..." Duo sighed and ran his fingers threw his hair. He hoped his fear was only a paranoia. If it wasn't...oh God he didn't want to think of what would happen if it wasn't.

*****

So? What do you think? Intriguing yet? I sure hope so!

Remember to review! Melyn Loves reviews.


	3. Soon

Thank you for all those lovely reviews! I am trying to write out all the characters the way I see them portrayed in Gundam Wing or in others fiction, being that I have really only seen endless waltz. If you know any really good GW fanfiction (I'm really into the angst stuff) please e-mail me the title and author!

Well, I'm also glad to hear people are mad that I haven't finished. Ok, I'm not one who likes to make people mad, but it is nice to know people are craving more. ^^; I'm kind of a dork.

Anyways...The secret of Duo will be revealed soon, I promise. (though I'm not saying it will be in this chapter and it might not be in the next chapter, but it will be reveled soon.)

******

Chapter 3: Soon

******

It seemed the little powwow in the kitchen the other night was more to Duo's benefit than he first realized. The next day nobody pressed him about what was the matter. They assumed it was Solo and then backed off. Hell, they didn't even make him do his chores that day.

Ok, that last bit only lasted a day. After that, Wufei began to yell about how each of them had duties and his was to do the dishes and sweep the floors and then do a little vacuuming.

You could always count on good old Wufei to force one into doing his chores. Hell, Duo only did them to shut Wufei up. He could have gone on for hours about there being no honor in a messy house and the injustice of dust-bunnies or something to that effect.

Duo guessed he was just paranoid. Nothing had happened, just the same-old-same-old. And it never felt so good to have nothing happen.

Now, after all those icky chores, he lounged on the couch. Wufei be damned if he called Duo lazy. All the American wanted right now was some good R&R and to begin with, a nap. Then maybe a sandwich followed by some television time.

It seemed what had really worked him into a frenzy was everyone worrying about him. After they stopped hounding him, he eased up. With no fear of his past being reveled, there was no worry about anyone getting hurt on account of him. He came to the conclusion that he was really loosing his mind.

"Mail!" Quatre called out from the kitchen. "Wufei, you have a couple, one looks like a bill...Trowa, Catherine wrote...Heero! Your my new friend! Paycheck! One for me. Yuck, a bill..."

Duo put an arm over his eyes and tried to fall asleep on the couch. Quatre had a daily ritual of announcing what type of mail everyone had. At first this was a little annoying, but soon it was just something they could all count on. 

There was no need for him to listen. No one ever wrote him and he didn't get paid for another week.

He cracked open his eye as he felt something land softly on his chest. He turned his gaze up at Quatre smiled down at him. "Duo, one letter." He said softly and lightly smiled.

Duo watched as Quatre exited the room and went back to the kitchen. He glanced down at the cream color envelope resting on his chest. He was slightly shocked to receive a letter. Who could have possibly wrote? Hilde? He picked it up as he place himself in a sitting positions. No return address, funny... 

His name was written across it in fancy black cursive handwriting, along with the address. This was most likely a woman's pen. It also appeared to be written with a quill.

Huh, that's something he hadn't seen in a while.

He turned the letter over and opened it. The paper inside was the same color of cream and was handwritten in the same font as the envelope. The letter was short. Duo read over the message and paled. He began to shake and dropped the piece of paper.

He jumped off the couch and dashed up to his room, all the while making a horrible racket.

"Duo?" Quatre watched the American ran off and heard the door to his room slam shut. Quatre noticed the letter Duo just received sitting on the floor.

"What was that about?" Wufei gave a questioning look to Quatre as he entered the room. 

The blond shrugged. "I just gave him a letter and then he ran off."

Both walked over to the couch and were soon joined by Trowa and Heero, who looked equally confused.

"Duo?" Trowa asked.

Quatre nodded as he sat on the couch and picked up the letter. His confusion grew as he read it over. "What is it?" Trowa inquired as he sat next to Quatre.

The blond looked up and exchanged glances with everyone. "It says 'Soon'."

******

"Not good...Not good..." Duo paced his room franticly. An open bag sat on his bed. Miscellaneous cloths and the other few items he owned were packed inside messily. 

Duo grabbed his jacket and slipped it on. The haunting message still fresh in his mind. 

'Soon.' They knew where he was. How long had they? Who sent it? Were they friend or enemy? Could it have been sent as a practical joke? God his head hurt.

He debated it over in his head. Leave or stay. If he stayed...if he stayed it was certain they would be hurt. But if he left...they would be out of harms way. 

'That is unless the ones you run from don't realize you left.' The small voice in the back of his head laughed. 'It would be ironic if to save the ones you love, you ran again, just to have history repeat itself.'

Duo gulped. No...that's not what he wanted. Not again.

"Duo?" There was a small knock on his door. "Are you alright?"

Duo threw his bag into the closet. "I...I'm just fine!" He opened his door.

It was Trowa . Duo cast his eyes down. "Guess your wondering what's up?"

Trowa sighed and entered his room. "Duo."

"I'm alright!" Duo said cheerfully. "I was just a little freaked about that letter."

"It's probably one of those chain letters." 

Duo smiled. "Maybe you're right." Duo lead the other pilot out of his room and back down to the kitchen. 'It could just be a chain letter...' He tried to shake the feeling of dread, but it just wouldn't go... It was not likely it was just a chain letter. 

"I think I'm going to go to bed...I think if I sleep I won't be so worked up." Duo smiled at the taller man. 

Trowa nodded. "Good night." He watched Duo clumsily go back up the stairs and disappear into his room. Duo was really scared. 

Trowa turned and entered the kitchen to find the other pilots sitting around the table. "I want that letter examined. Handwriting has to be on records somewhere. I want to know who sent it." 

*****

Duo sat on the floor in total darkness. Maybe it would be easier to just tell them. If the others knew, maybe they could protect themselves.

Oh God...at this point, he didn't know what to do. He was in this position only once before...and that time ended with results he hadn't wanted. And they knew what he was...

There had to be a way. A way to keep them safe and himself safe as well.

They were open people. They had been to hell and back again together. Maybe this wouldn't change anything between them.

Some how he just couldn't make himself believe himself.

*****

So...how was that? Better or worse than my last chapters? I hope better. Please review. And thank all of you for all the lovely reviews I have received. 


	4. Dead ends

I'm on a roll here with this fic! I don't think I was ever this hyped to write more! Once again I would like to say thank you for all those lovely reviews...and what did you mean, Kayla, when You said I needed to get out more? I believe you mean out of my house and into the real world.

I hate to break it to you, but I do have a life. I think it is you, who doesn't have the life, my dear. I spent my time being creative and writing and exploring the many psychological states of the human mind. Where as, you read it and I'm guessing you do not understand the depth of my writing. So, who here needs to get out more? So as a response to what I believe is my first flame, *sticks out tongue* Neah Neah

Now that I'm through being childish, please review! And I would like to make mention to anyone thinking of flaming me. I will read them and laugh at them then share them with friends then I will post them with rude comments that will make you look like an idiot.

As a final note, I really don't know why Duo is the center of all supernatural spooky things. I guess it' the whole 'god of death' persona. I thought he fit the role in my story better than any other pilot. *Looks both ways to make sure no G-boy is listening.* Not to play favorites but... I'm a huge Duo-chan fan! He's so huggabley cute! I just can't help but put him through mental agony. (Somehow I just sounded crazier than I actually am...)

******

Chapter four: Dead ends

******

Duo found himself gazing at his reflection in the mirror once again. No matter how long he looked at himself, he couldn't see what everyone else did. He was still a monster in his eyes. 

He would always be a monster. There was no way he could undue his past. What one once was, one would always be, he guessed. 

He didn't even know if he wanted to erase his past. If he lost that part of himself, would he be the same Duo everyone knew here and now? Or would he be completely different? 

He cursed himself for thinking such thoughts. He was here at this moment in time, and there was nothing he could do to change it. Right now this is where he belonged. There had to be a reason in the great scheme of things that placed him in those spots on those days and that brought him here, with people who cared about him. And more importantly, to people he cared about more than himself.

But it still didn't seem fair. He was blessed now. He had warmth and food and shelter, where others still had none. He was a horrible person with little redeeming characteristics, and yet here he was.

Karma must not have been working right. He shouldn't be here. So many names of those that should be in a place like this crossed his mind. All of those names...all of those faces belonged to a person he caused grief and anguish. But mostly he caused them death.

His mind drifted farther and farther into the past. A sweet voice like an angels song flooded his senses, bringing him to a day when he felt much the same anger directed at himself.

He closed his eyes and felt it wash over him. The smell...The look...The taste...Everything he once was...all that returned with the remembrance of that one sweet voice.

Soft fingers. White like cream brushed his dark hair away from his face. The familiar touch immediately made his entire being relax as he a sweet melody from the past played in his mind. It was a tune he often heard coming from her, a melody she sang only to him.

"Don't do this to yourself." Her angelic voice scolded as her hand brushed his cheek. "Don't hurt yourself so."

"I can't help it..." He said aloud. His voice cracked and he dared not to open his eyes. 

"Please try." She pleaded. "I cannot bare to see you in such pain."

He took her hand in his own. "I can't...please believe me, I can't stop blaming myself." Duo slowly opened his eyes, hoping to steal one glance of his vision before she left. But he found himself alone, sitting on his bed in his cold dark room. Silence was his only companion. 

*****

"Alright." Trowa nodded, even though the person on the other line of the phone couldn't see. "Are you sure?" A slight pause. "Alright..."

Quatre sat nervously at the table, wishing he could hear what the other person, most likely Sally, Une or Noin was saying. 

It didn't appear to be good news by and definition. Trowa's voice lowered slightly after every pause. Which was usually not a good sign. 

After a minute, Trowa and the other person bid their 'adieu's' and hung up.

Trowa slowly moved over to the table, yet another sign the answers he got about the handwriting were not what he was looking for.

"So?" Quatre inquired.

Trowa shook his head. "It was a bust."

Quatre grimaced. The chances of finding a match on handwriting was like finding a needle in a haystack, to coin a phrase.

Since the 2020, (AD, of course. Some time before the colonies) handwriting was kept on record in some countries. It made handwritten ransom notes and other such demands much easier to trace back to their origins. Mostly it was used because everyone's handwriting style was different.

It did seem to be impractical at first, but it did prove to have it's advantages. Most often it was used in crime cases where fingerprint's were not found but some written samples were. Still, it is not commonly used. Most of the time it is used to search for fraud in legal documentation.

Working at Preventers did have it's perks. One being they were allowed full use of the records if need be. And this did seem like a 'need be' type of situation.

"Une did a check on the letter. I told here we had suspicion of fraud on someone. She didn't ask questions and ran a check."

"Came up with nothing, huh?"

"Actually, there was one hit." Trowa smiled weakly. "But it was a hit and miss. The person's files were dated back some two hundred years back." Trowa sighed. "The only reason their records were never taken off is because there was no death certificate."

Quatre cracked a smile. "Did you get anything off our dead guy anyways?"

"Girl. It was a woman. There wasn't much about her. Not too many records. There wasn't even a birth certificate. Une said it had to be a fluke in the system." 

"Bound to have one." Quatre smiled as he saw the other tow pilots enter the kitchen. Quatre stood up and pushed in his chair. "Tell them what you just found out. I'm going to check on Duo. He's been up in his room all day."

Trowa nodded and motioned for the other two to sit down. "I just got off the phone with Une..."

*****

Quatre quietly made his way to Duo's room. There was no knowing if he was asleep or not. If Duo was asleep, he didn't want to wake him. Duo hadn't been sleeping at night and when he did, his dreams were filled with nightmares. Sometimes he would wake up the rest of the household with his screams. Somehow Quatre knew these dreams were not just fiction made up by the mind. They were probably real, though it was doubtful Duo would ever reveal them to him.

Quatre stopped at the door with the yellow 'caution' tape taped to it. (Leave it to Duo to steal office supplies). He pressed his ear up against the wood and heard nothing coming from inside. 

The blond slowly opened the door and poked his head in. "Duo?" His voice was barely over a whisper.

Duo turned abruptly. A look of shock on his face. "Q...Quatre?!"

Quatre stood there pale and unblinking in the doorway. 

Duo stood and looked just as panicked. "Quatre--" He moved closer. 

Duo's movement jolted Quatre's reflexes and he backed out of the room. He shook his head in disbelief. "I can't be seeing this..." His back hit the wall. "No...This can't be real..." Quatre turned and fled down the hallway and to the other pilots.

Duo ran after him. "Quatre! I can explain!" 'Oh God...' Duo silently prayed as everything seemed to be playing in slow motion. 'This can't be happening...not like this...'

*****

Hehe...Yes I am evil, I know. I couldn't help myself. Sorry.

I guess this means you have to wait until the next chapter to find out what the big secret is! (see! I told you! two chapters ago, this is where I'll be revealing Duo's big secret!)

Duo: whimper whimper...

*Pats Duo on the head.* It'll be alright. They'll still love you! Even if your secret is -censor-.


	5. Secrets Revealed

Hello once again. Boy oh boy. Midterm at school...yuck. . I know I just bombed a test in poetry. *sigh* and then the test on the Iliad...*mumbles under breath* stupid Greek names sound so much alike...

*Ahem* Anyways, I really want to get started on my story, but I have received another one of those pesky flames. This one is sent from lilliana, whoever that is. She had this to say about my work, "Dude, Girl, whatever you are. This story sucks ASS!!!! Get a life and please do me a favor and stop writting :)"

Now, let's go through this class, one step at a time. "Dude, Girl, whatever you are." _That is not very nice. I thought I made it perfectly clear that I was a woman. How could I be a "Dude" and a "girl". Secondly, you really shouldn't capitalize 'girl' being it is the second word in a sentence and it isn't a name._

"This story sucks ASS!!!!" _Gee, what is it with the excess exclamation points? They really are not needed. Your point is perfectly clear. My work is not to your liking. I guess you must not have an open mind. Besides, I never knew ass could suck. Please explain to me how ones ass can suck. I'm in the dark here_.

"Get a life" _Ok, I've addressed the 'get a life' part before and I really hate repeating myself so, I'll just say that I do have a life. Your the one that doesn't_. 

"and please do me a favor" _Why should I give you a favor? Your the one who's insulting me. Other people seem to enjoy it. You're the one that doesn't like it. _

"and stop writting" _What, may I ask, is 'writting'? Is it a sport? Is it an emotion? Or is it you mean WRITING? As in a literary composition. Maybe one should think about using 'spell check.' I hear most computers now a days have it. If you don't there is always the thesaurus. (That is a big book that shows how to spell words and it shows other words with the same meaning. It is a very useful guide. I suggest you get one if you don't have it.) or a dictionary. (Again, something one should never due without.) Maybe you should just learn how to spell. It makes you look smarter is you spell correctly. _

As a final note, criticism is good. I like criticism. It tells me how to improve. Full fledged bashing of one's beliefs (as the above statement) is not something I like to hear or read. 

So to all you people who want to continue to read my story...

*****

Chapter 5: Secrets Revealed 

*****

"Quatre! I can explain!" He heard Duo's voice call out his name, but that...that thing couldn't possibly be Duo....it just couldn't.

He ran faster, knowing that demonic thing was right behind him. He sped into the kitchen and ran to a specific cupboard where he knew they kept an extra gun for protection.

The others stared at him in shock as they sat at the table. Trowa just finished explaining what Une had told him on the letter when all the commotion started. "Quatre..." Trowa stood in front of the blond. "What's going--"

"Move." 

"What?"

"Move!" Quatre shouted. His eyes were transfixed on the empty doorway, waiting for something to happen. (What that something _was, _was still a mystery to the rest of the group.)

Trowa didn't think twice about slowly moving out of the blonds range of fire.

*****

Duo whimpered. Here he stood, in a dark hallway with his back pressed against the wall. A mere two inches away from being shot at by one of his closest friends. 

He knew Quatre went for the gun. Who wouldn't have? He would have. 

Of course, he also knew what he and his kind were capable of. Quatre ran just from looking at him. But he had to admit, he was quite intimidating. 

Duo shook his head. This was no time to be thinking of what he was and was not capable of. Right now he had to think of a way out of this situation.

One, he could run. Probably the most logical of solutions, but it did require him to get to the front door, which was past the kitchen. The back door was right out, being it was _in_ the kitchen.

He was fast. He was very fast. But Quatre's instinct told him to shoot anything that moving, thusly, him.

Choice two. He could talk and try to reason with Quatre. Also a logical solution. He had the others to back him up and they would try to get him to drop the gun.

The problem was, Quatre wouldn't believe him and wouldn't listen to the others. He knew what he saw and no matter how crazy his story would sound to the others, he wouldn't bend.

Three, he could kill them. That would kind of defeat the purpose of not getting anyone hurt, but it was an option. Though he would never do it.

Four. He could get himself killed. Again, not the solution he was looking for.

Five. Maybe by luck, a stray pizza boy would show up at the back door and Quatre would shoot him instead of Duo and leave enough time open for escape.

Six. Relena could show up and call out for Heero. In turn, this action makes the perfect soldier go over the edge, wrestle the gun from Quatre and finally do what he had promised to do so many years before and during the ruckus, Duo could escape. 

Seven, Trieze could raise from the dead and Duo could use him as a shield.

God...now he was getting desperate...

Ok...he narrowed down his choices to two possibilities, getting-the-hell-out and talking. There was no harm in trying to talk his way out of being shot. Besides, even if Quatre wouldn't listen, he would have probably calmed the blond down enough to run.

Duo cleared his throat. "Q...Quatre..?"

Duo jumped five feet into the air and yelped in surprise as the gun went off. 'Guess he won't talk...' Duo stared wide-eyed at the smoking hole in the wall. This was not good.

*****

Trowa grabbed for the gun and took it out of Quatre's hands. "What are you doing!" He hissed. "You just tried to shoot Duo!"

"That's not Duo!" Quatre hissed back. "It sounds like him, but it isn't. That...that _thing _can't be Duo." He pointed to the empty doorway. "It was in Duo's room...I think it might have....killed Duo..."

Wufei and Heero exchanged glances. "Are you sure it killed Duo?"

"Duo, get in here now." Trowa ordered.

******

"Ah...Now?" Oh crap. Now he was really screwed.

"Duo, get in this room now." Trowa sounded more forceful the second time he ordered Duo into the room.

"C...can you throw me the gun? It'll make me feel safer." He waited a few seconds then heard the sound of a gun sliding across the wooden floor. 

The weapon hit the wall across from where Duo stood with a soft 'thump'. Duo slowly bent down and picked it up, making certain no one could see him.

He put the safety on and carefully put the gun in a safe place on his body. 

'Now's my chance...' Duo gulped and took off in a dead run for the front door.

Before he could even clear the doorway, a being with great bodyweight ran into Duo with all his strength and both fell to the floor. 

Heero sat on Duo's chest and held his arms over his head. "Maxwell, your far too predictable..." He trailed off and stared in shock.

Heero jumped off and stood four feet away from his friend in a fighting position. 

Duo sat up and ran a hand threw his hair. "Uh...surprise?" He smiled sheepishly and quickly tried to think of an explanation.

*****

Ok, I lied. I'm sorry! So sorry! But that only means that the next chapter will actually have Duo's secret revealed! Again I'm sorry! ^^;

Ok, I'm not all that sorry. I wanted it to end that way so...Ha! 

Oh boy...now here's the real question. When will Melyn find time to finish this fic?!?! Gaaa!!! So much work! So much work! *Runs around like a chicken without it's head*


	6. Confessions

Blah, sorry for taking so long to update!!! I really should try to work harder on this, I know...I have a list of excuses, but I'm sure you don't want to hear them.

On the super bright side, I found a website to post my fanart at!!! I don't have much up yet, but I'm working at getting more posted. The address is www.mediaminer.org and my pen name is still Melyn the Otaku! ^^ go check out some of my other work, ok it's artwork but still...

Anywho...I'll stop talking and get on with the story...

******

Chapter 6: Confessions

******

He was caught. There was no two ways about it. He had fallen for their trap and they caught him. They had all seen him in his truest form now, and by the looks on all their faces, they either wanted to run in utter fear of what he was or kill him.

Either which way seemed better than having them stand around him and gawk like they were now. It made him feel like an animal in the zoo.

Out of the usually composed group (who was now in a frenzy), Wufei was the calmest, but that didn't say much. He was usually calm in these kind of situations. Not like this is an everyday occurrence, but he was very composed.

He sat back in his chair with a bemused look as the other pilots screamed out questions a million a minute in his highly sensitive ears. It seemed Wufei was _enjoying_ watching him under this pressure.

Either that or he just dipped into his batch of ancient Chinese herbal medicines again... Last time he took some of those he was so out of it Duo just took a hundred bucks from his wallet as he watched.

The others continued to yell on and on. He couldn't take much more of this. The looks...The questions...The everything. It was just too much for him. Duo put his hands over his ears and shut his eyes in a futile attempt to block it out. But it still just kept coming with out any signs of stopping. No one notice him right now. They just saw him. They just couldn't see what this was doing to him..."Shut up..." He growled under his breath.

They just continued to talk.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Duo screamed with unshed tear in his eyes. His hands shook as he pulled at his hair. "Everybody just shut up!"

The three pilots shut their mouths. 

"One question at a time..." His voice shook as did his whole body. He released his hair and slowly laid his arms on the table. "I can't think with all the noise..." He rested his head on his arms and closed his eyes.

The reality of them finding out what he was, was settling slowly into his mind. He knew it was only a matter of time before he slipped up. He just hoped the slip would be in twenty or so years.

He was a monster. A destroyer of lives, and not only through death was his will done. He was also a torturer. 

He was a monster both physically and mentally by all definitions. Most of the people he knew now would deny it. They would say he wasn't a monster. It was a war and he has to kill. But his soul was soaked in the blood of the innocents.

Physically he was a monster told in legend. He was a manipulator and a thief. He was a murder and a traitor to his kind. He was evil. 

He never did tell the truth...but at the same time he never did lie.

Duo Maxwell was a wolf spirit. He was a smart wolf who learned to run and hide and survive on his own. 

Heero touched one of Duo's wolf ears. "What exactly are you?"

"A wolf." Duo murmured into the wooden table. "Isn't that obvious?"

"Well...yes." Quatre still kept his distance from his fellow pilot. "How long have you been...or is this..." It seemed the Arabian was having trouble finding the right phrasing.

"How long have I been a monster?" Duo snorted. "I was born like this."

Silence invaded the room and left everyone not knowing what to say. No one moved. No one talked. 

Quatre once again cleared his throat. "So you know who sent you that letter then." He looked down at his feet. As if he were the one to be ashamed.

Duo felt like laughing in spite of everything that was happening. Quatre was still Quatre and somehow he felt this was in part his fault. Duo suddenly remembered he was asked a question. "No." He shook his head. "Not a clue on who sent it."

"Do you know what it means?" Trowa seemed to be calmer now. Maybe it was because he felt they could handle this like any other mission. Duo had to admit that was a calming thought to him as well.

"Yes." He mumbled

"What does it mean?" Trowa inched closer.

Duo locked eyes with the green eyed man. "You don't want to hear what it means." He glanced over to Heero. "And don't try to think you will get me to tell you. It's not important."

"Was it a threat?" Quatre's blue eyes widened.

"I'm not telling." Duo gave a look that told the others he was sincere about not telling them. He was going to stick to his word. 

From what they had all seen this evening, Duo was good at not telling them things. They all figured Duo would blab on and on about anything to do with his life. They knew that Duo had secrets. They respected his privacy and never asked. They too had things they didn't want anyone else to know about, but now it seemed they underestimated the American.

Questions started to form in their minds. If duo had kept this from them, how old was he? Was he also a liar? Did he really live on L2? Was the beast sitting in front of them really what Duo was like, or was this a rouge to get them to trust him. Would he kill them in the night--

"I'm not bad." Duo choked out. His voice cracked. He swallowed hard and continued. "I'm really Duo. I'm the same person you saw yesterday and the day before that and the day before that." He looked down at the table. "Just, please, stop staring at me like that..."

They all looked away, suddenly feeling mortified of what they were doing. Of course Duo was the same. If he wanted to kill them, he could have done it long ago. 

"Sorry." Quatre forced a smile. It was obvious they still didn't trust him. 

Duo smiled faintly back. 

Quatre timidly moved towards Duo and tried to decide whether or not to pat him on the back. "I really am, Duo I--"

Quatre was cut off by the sound of smashing glass. Everyone jumped at the sound in the cold silence they were in. "What was that?" Wufei jumped out of his chair, totally aware of what was going on.

"Quatre! You and Duo stay in the kitchen!" Trowa ordered and ran to the source of the smash. Heero and Wufei followed.

Duo got out of his chair and walked over to the door leading to the hallway. Quatre stood behind him as they peered out.

It seemed a window was what broke in the darkened living room. Heero stood next to the window and looked out, trying to find the person who did it, most likely.

Trowa knelt down on the floor examining something the other two couldn't see. Wufei was next to him. The two were talking so low Quatre couldn't hear.

But Duo could.

"What was it?" Wufei whispered.

Trowa shook his head. "A brick with a note..." There was silence. Trowa must have been removing the note from the brick. " 'We're gonna get you, Duo.' " He read off.

The two exchanged a look. "Think it's connected to the first?"

"What else could it be?" Trowa shoved the threat into his pocket. "Don't tell Duo. I would upset him more."

"The bastards are gone." Heero let go of the curtain he was holding.

Trowa and Wufei stood up and turned back to the kitchen. Trowa shrugged. "Rock threw the window. Must have been a prank."

'And I was born yesterday.' Duo decided this was as good of a time as any and put his jester's mask back on. "Damn! Can't those kids think of anything original? I could give them some good pointers!" He smirked.

"That's just what this world needs, Duo. More pranksters like you." 

"Hey! I'm just saying I could give them original ideas! Throwing rocks threw windows is about as old of a prank as I am!"

Everyone stared blankly, not getting the joke. "Nevermind..." Duo muttered. 

"I was really scared there!" Quatre seemed much better now.

Someone else was talking, but Duo's mind was on the brick in the living room. Whoever did it meant for Duo to hear that threat. The problem was, Duo had made many enemies in his long lifetime. It would be hard to find out _who_ it was... 

******

Sooooooooo sorry I didn't finish this sooner! I tried! I really did! 

As a note, the "ancient Chinese herbal medicine" is a long running joke between a friend and I on China's history with the Britain. If you get the joke, good for you! You know about history! You get a treat!

Well, I'll try to get the next chapter out *much* sooner than this one did. Winter break is coming up so I'll probably post a lot of new stuff.

Remember to Review!


	7. Testament

*Melyn holds head down in shame* I goofed again. I promised this would come out sooner, it's just life got in the way. Stupid life always does that to me.

Well, on the bright side I passed all my classes (to the best of my knowledge) so yay for me!

Well, anyways....I will stop boring you now...

*****

Testament

*****

"So..." Quatre looked down at his shoes as he swallowed the lump in his throat. "What you told me last night was a lie..."

Trowa sighed. "We had too. We wanted to tell you right then, but Duo was there. We agreed that it would be best if he didn't find out."

Quatre slowly nodded. He knew that Trowa was right. If Duo found out, he would be worse off.

Duo had been making himself sick by not eating or sleeping. Although he hid it well, it was obvious to those around him that he was paranoid. He checked his back more often and practically locked himself in his room. 

When Duo did leave his room, it was to shower. He'd been taking showers more and more often since they found out his secret (or so he called it). Though none of them knew the reasons behind Duo's actions or why he took so many showers, they had come to the conclusion it must be a way for Duo to calm himself down.

"What did the note say?" Quatre's gaze never left the floor.

Trowa shrugged. "Not much really, just a threat aimed at Duo."

"And that's not much?"

"Information wise, no." Heero stood in the doorway. "It was just a threat." His gaze pierced the blond. "And trust me, if Duo knows what it means, he wouldn't tell us."

*****

Duo sighed as the warm water flowing over him was slowly turning cold. It was better this way. The cold is what he deserved after what he had done.

He let the cold water fall for a few more minutes, as he was lost in his own thoughts. Finally he turned off the water and wrapped a towel around his shaking body. He quickly dressed and kept the towel wrapped around his hair. Slowly he went across the hall to lock himself up in his room with just his thoughts again.

He entered his room and didn't bother to turn on the lights. 

"Maxwell." Duo jumped at the sound of his own name. He turned to find Wufei sitting at his desk. The Chinese man turned on the desk lamp.

"Go away." Duo glared and turned away, his ears twitched in annoyance.

"I knew it." Wufei smirked and shook his head. "I knew from the moment we met what you were. I told myself it couldn't be true, but it was."

"What was true?" Duo's wolf ears perked up as he turned back to face Wufei.

"My grandmother always told me stories about demons."

"I'm not a demon." Duo growled, his eyes narrowed.

"As a child I was told about your kind, but I never believed her. Never truly." Wufei shook his head again in disbelief. "I can't believe she was right."

Duo shrugged and threw the towel off. "The elderly know more than you think. Why did you come here?"

"Curiosity." Wufei smiled. "I was brought up with tales of your kind, but I never actually met one."

Duo rolled his eyes. "So you came to study me?" He snorted. "I'm not a lab rat."

Wufei raised an eyebrow. "And I'm not a scientist. So can I ask you a few questions?"

"No."

"No? Even for the sake of knowledge?"

"Yes." Duo turned away. "What's in the past should stay there."

"I'm just curious, Maxwell." Wufei's eyes met with Duo's, silently telling the wolf, he had no intention of leaving. 

Duo rolled his eyes "You won't leave, will you?"

"Not until I get some answers." Wufei took what Duo said to be the closest thing he would get to a 'yes'. "How old are you?"

Duo snorted. "Older than you."

How did he know that answer was coming. "How long have you been alive?" He rephrased his question.

"You really won't leave..." Duo dropped himself onto his bed. "Fine, I'm old, how's that?"

"Why won't you tell me your history?" Wufei's temper began to flair. "Why is it so damn important to keep your past a secret?!" He rose to his feet as he yelled.

"Because it is not important and isn't very interesting."

Wufei glared. He knew that Duo would never tell him about his past. Duo even said he wouldn't tell them, so why did he even try to find out? 'Because you were so damn curious!' He mental screamed as he turned and left Duo's room.

"If you knew," Wufei turned back to Duo. He gazed out the window with sad eyes. "If you knew about my past...you would just get hurt..."

Wufei nodded in acknowledgement, though Duo couldn't see. He shut the door behind him and walked off.

*****

Heero looked up from his book as the front doorbell rang. He looked across the room to Trowa and Quatre, both looked as confused as he was. Heero nodded as he stood up, signaling to the others, he would be taking care of whoever was at the door.

He passed through the kitchen and saw Wufei sipping his tea. The Chinaman looked livid. 

"Aren't you going to answer the door?" He snapped as the doorbell rang again.

Heero nodded and made sure his gun was loaded. "Going now."

Wufei arched an eyebrow as the Japanese man left the kitchen. "Isn't that over reacting?"

Heero knew it was probably him. At times he still felt like he was part of the war, and his training would come back. He knew there was nothing unusual with someone being at the front door on the weekends, but for some reason he felt like he needed his gun.

Of course, he would feel really bad pulling it on some poor Jehovah's Witness, scaring those poor people to death. 

Heero concealed his weapon as he opened the front door. He opened the door an inch. "Who's there?"

"We want Duo." Heero couldn't see the person's face who was talking, but he knew it was definitely male. "Just send him out and no one will get hurt." 

Heero glared. They wanted Duo...

From the sound of the voice, he was standing right behind the door. Heero gripped the handle hard as he gritted his teeth. Heero forced the door open as quickly as he could until he heard something brake.

"Ow! Son-of-a!" Heero looked up at the person holding their nose. He looked oddly familiar....

"Yuy! Ah!" The man cried out in pain. "You broke my nose!" He glared.

Heero could see the blood seeping through the hands still clutching against the pained face. 

"Ah..." Heero swallowed as he realized who was at the door. "I..." 

Quatre meeped as he came in sight of the door. "Mr. Peacecraft!"

"I'll get some ice." Trowa sighed as he walked off to the kitchen.

"I thought you were someone else." Heero moved to the side to let one of his bosses at Preventers enter.

"I would hope so." Millard growled as he entered.

"Why do you want Duo?" Heero followed Millard into the kitchen.

"Mr. Maxwell hasn't shown up for work in a while." He took the icepack from Trowa. "I came to see if there was anything wrong."

"Employers don't often do that." Heero glared.

Millard raised an eyebrow "Well, when you hire someone who was a key player in a war, usually there are people out to kill him and when he doesn't appear at work for over a week, you tend to worry if he was in trouble. Can I have a Kleenex?"

Quatre handed him a box. "We are so sorry about that we--"

"Do you usually answer the door in that manner?" Although he looked calm and dignified, they could see the anger in his eyes as he tried to stop his nose from bleeding. 

"Do you want us to call a doctor or anything..?" Quatre forced a smile.

"What's going on?" Duo asked as he walked into the kitchen slowly. Everyone's eyes got big as they heard his voice and gasped.

"Duo...Where have you been?" Millard turned to look at the American.

"I haven't been feeling like myself." Duo smiled. He looked normal and human. His ears were gone and he had no tail and no claws and....

"I'm feeling better now, so I'll be back to work shortly." He smiled.

Millard stood up. "Glad to hear it." He nodded. "I'll show myself out, Heero."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "What happened to your nose?"

"Door accident." Millard nodded a farewell and made his way to the front door, Duo following at his feet.

"No really! You're bleeding hard and--"

Duo was cut off by a hard pounding on the front door. 

"Maxwell!" The man outside screamed as he pounded. "I know your in there! Come out now!"

Everyone looked at Duo. "Who's that?" Quatre whispered.

Duo shrugged. "I think they're pissed...maybe they threw the brick..."

"Brick?" Millard raised his eyebrow again as Quatre motioned to the window covered in plywood.

"We had visitors." The blond smiled. 

Heero walked up to the door and gripped the handle.

"Suddenly it makes sense..." Millard sighed and stepped back, still keeping firm pressure on his nose.

"What do you want?" Heero called out though the door.

"Just send out the little prick, and everything will be fine." Another man laughed. "We just have to give him back what he gave us!"

"And then some!" A third man yelled out.

Duo gulped as he took Heero's hand off the door. 

"What are you doing?!" Heero hissed.

"I have to do this." Duo sighed. "The more I run, the worst I get beat." He smiled weakly and slowly opened the door.

****

Look at that, I really need to update more, huh? I'm sorry that I haven't, life got in the way. Next time I'll get it out sooner. 


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